As a writer who sips coffee and blogs when current events get me cranky I couldn’t even *begin* to know what military combat feels like.

With that in mind, I’m throwing up this post because apologies matter. Gen. Mark Milley’s graduation address clarified his position on gassing protestors at Lafayette Square but his speech was—can’t stress this enough—NOT an apology.

Lazily tweeting or publishing nonsense stories that afford Milley credit for an apology where none is due? That’s the statement of our current news media and how they relentlessly fail to interpret what they see and hear in front of them. When donald fires Milley for messing up his tantrum it’ll be after media faceplanted, again, on what actually happened here.

Do the words “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” appear in his video? No, they don’t. But more to the point: Milley was complicit in furthering that petulant insecure Orange Man’s fever dream of being Russian Military Autocrat. Giving Milley credit for a non-apology ascribes benefit of the doubt to the entire criminal regime. 🔴


Will Pollocksideways is a perpetually crabby New York City escapee based in Midtown Atlanta. He’s a freelance multimedia journalist, media analyst and author of two books (award-wining Pizza for Good & Leaving Triscuit), with more on the way.

In 2001, Will earned his Masters from The Medill School of Journalism, graduating with highest honors from the magazine sequence. As permanent member of Journalism’s National Honors Society, he’s been active in monitoring, writing and blogging about media and journalism ever since he graduated.

Obsessed with good storytelling and journalistic excellence, Will uses snark, humor and reason to distill dumb shit and make it fun. He’s a seeker/maker of non-consensus news, and helps you cure crankies by finding the nut in every story.

As for-profit media continues to fail us, it’s more important than ever to find reliable sources. Authentic storytelling exists—you just have to look for it. On this blog you’ll get ideas, not ideology. Sass with class. Reporting with rapport. Evidence with a touch of evil. You get the idea.

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